Ironing board



Aug- 31, 1965 A. s. KING 3,203,373

IRONING BOARD Filed March l5, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug.. 31, 1965 A. s.KING 3,203,373

IRoNING BOARD Filed March 13, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States PatentO 3,203,373 IRONING BOARD Arthur S. King, Prairie Village, Kans.,assignor to Murry W. Maxwell, Shawnee Mission, Kans., Sam D. Capper andNelle Ferguson, both of Kansas City, Mo.

Filed Mar. 13, 1964, Ser. No. 351,767 17 Claims. (Cl. 10S-138) Thisinvention relates to an ironing board for household use and has as itsprimary object the provision of a practical ironing board which isconstructed in such a manner as to provide adequate leg room beneath theironing board so that the user of the same may actually do the ironingwhile comfortably sitting at the side of the ironing board with his orher legs therebeneath and which may be readily raised or lowered byimproved means for holding, adjusting and collapsing the supportstructure for the board.

Commercially available ironing boards generally utilize collapsible legssecured to the underside of the ironing board itself and which crosseach other at a location below the ironing board so as to effectivelyobstruct the space therebelow. While these ironing boards aresatisfactoiy for use when the user is in a standing position, suchironing boards are not satisfactory for use when the user is in asitting position adjacent thereto. The crossed legs of an ironing boardof this type do not permit the user to sit comfortably close to theironing board and the user must, therefore, lean forwardly so as to bein the proper position to do the ironing. The users legs are preventedfrom being moved under the ironing board to any appreciable degree;hence, the user must continue to lean forwardly while doing the ironing,all of which results in a strain on various parts of the users body,particularly the back and shoulders. This strain will cause the user tobecome fatigued and the ironing must periodically be interrupted inorder to relieve the strain.

The present invention utilizes parallel linkage structure between anironing board and a base frame or support with the linkage beingdisposed adjacent one end of the ironing board so that a person usingthe ironing board may sit in a comfortable position at the side of theironing board with his or her legs therebeneath in the space to the sideof the linkage and performv the ironing Without interference from thelinkage itself. The present invention, therefore, overcomes the probleminherent in the ironing boards utilizing the crossed legs because theuser of the present invention can sit as close as is necessary to theironing board and need not lean toward the same in order to be inposition to do the ironing.

The present invention also permits the ironing board to be completelycollapsed, notwithstanding the presencev of the parallel linkagecoupling the ironing board to the base frame. In addition, thecollapsing may be accomplished manually or automatically and requires nospecial skill on the part of the user.

It is, therefore, another object of the present invention to provide anironing board for household use which not only provides adequate legroom beneath the ironing board itself, but which can be completelycollapsed to form a compact unit suitable for storage in a minimum ofspace and readily movable from place-to-place.

Another object of the invention is to `provide an ironing board of thetype described which can be releasably locked in any one of a number ofoperative positions disposed at various heights above the base frame sothat the ironing board may be adjusted to a comfortable height for theuser.

In the drawings:

FIGURE l is a side elevational view of one embodiice ment of the ironingboard made pursuant to the present invention illustrating the collapsedand various operative positions thereof;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along line 2 2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along line 3 3 of FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along line 4 4 of FIG.l;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5 5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. l but illustrating another embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along line '7 7 ofFIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8 8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9 9 of FIG. 7; and

FIG. l0 is a cross-sectional View taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 6.

The present invention provides a household ironing board utilizingparallel linkage structure for swingably mounting an ironing board on afloor-engaging base frame so that the ironing board will be maintainedlevel regardless of its position with respect to the base frame. Meansis provided to releasably lock the ironing board in any one of a numberof positions above the base frame so that the height of the ironingboard above a oor may be adjusted to suit the desires of the user. Areversible motor may be coupled with the ironing board and the parallellinkage to automatically raise or lower the ironing board when the motoris energized.

The parallel linkage includes a pair of links pivotally connected atoffset positions on the base frame and the ironing board so that thelatter will be completely collapsed when the ironing board is moved to alocation directly adjacent the base frame. The links are coupled to theironing board adjacent one end thereof so that an unobstructed spacebeneath the ironing board will be provided to assure adequate leg roomfor a user of the ironing board when the user is in a sitting positionadjacent thereto.

One embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. l-5 andincludes an ironing board or table 20 of the usual ,construction mountedon a Hoor-engaging support or base frame 22 by means of a parallellinkage 24. A coupling unit 26 connected to ironing board 20 and linkage24 releasably maintains ironing board 20 in any one of a number ofpositions above base frame 22. For instance, ironing board 20 may bedisposed in the full-line position of FIG. l in an intermediate positionas shown in the dashed-lines substantially midway between ironing board20 and base frame 22, or in the collapsed position shown in dashed-linesin relatively close proximity to and above base frame 22.

Ba-se frame 22 may be of any configuration, but a preferred congurationthereof is shown in FIG. 3 wherein a horizontal stretch 28 is rigid to aU-shaped section 30 having a pair of upright side plates 32 thereonextending along the sides thereof. Stretch 28 and section 30 aresubstantially coplanar as shown in FIG. 1 and are provided Withfloor-engaging legs 34, legs 34 of section 30 flaring outwardly as shownin FIG. 3 to provide stability for base frame 22.

A pair of horizontal, parallel shafts 36 and 38 are rigid to and spanthe distance between plates 32. As shown in FIG. l, the height of shaft38 above section 30 is greater than that of shaft 36.

Linkage 24 includes a first leg or link 40 mounted for rotation at itslower end thereof on shaft 36 intermediate the extremities of the latteras Ishown in FIG. 3. A pair of second legs or links 42, having the samelength as leg 40, are mounted at the lower ends thereof for rotation onshaft 38 adjacent the extremities of the latter.

A pair of flanged plates 44 and 46 are secured by means of the flangesthereof to the underside of ironing board as shown in FlGS. 2 and 4. Ashaft 48 is rigid to and spans the distance between plates 44 and 46.Link 40 is journaled on shaft 48 for rotation relative thereto. Anelongated element or shaft 58 is rotatably received in plates 44 and 46as shown in FIG. 4 and is rigidly coupled to the upper ends of links 42for rotation therewith about the axis of shaft 38, Shaft extends throughplates 44 and 46 and outwardly therefrom in opposed directions. A collar52 is secured to the end of shaft 50 adjacent plate 44 to anchor thelatter in close proximity to the corresponding link 42. The end of shaft50 adjacent plate 46 extends a substantial distance outwardly of thelatter for coupling with means 26 in a manner to be described.

Unit 26 includes an elongated member or tube 54 rigid at one end thereofto the outer face of plate 46 and in surrounding relationship to thecorresponding end of shaft 50. Tube 54 has a pair of diametricallyopposed notches or slots 56 which provide openings which receive a pin58 carried by a flanged, tubular retainer 60 having a knob or handle 62thereon at the outer end thereof. The corresponding end of shaft 50 isprovided with a number of pairs of diametrically opposed notches orslots 64 which are alignable with slots 56 so that pin 58 may besimultaneously disposed within notches 56 and 64 to releasablyinterconnect shaft 50 and tube 54.

An L-shaped bracket 66 is rigid to plate 46 and has an opening 68 ofsufficient diameter to receive retainer 60. A coil spring 70 is disposedabout retainer 60 and normally bears against the flange 72 thereof andthe inner face 74 of bracket 66 to bias pin 58 within slots 56 and 64.By pulling knob 62 away from plate 46, pin 58 will be moved out of slots56 and 64 and shaft S0 may be rotated within and relative to tube 54 andthereby permit link-s 42 to be shifted relative to ironing hoard 20. Asa result, the ironing board may be raised or lowered to a desiredposition above base frame 22. When the desired position is reached and apair of slots 64 are aligned with slots 56, knob 62 is released and pin58 is then directed into the aligned slots 56 and 64 to releasablyinterconnect shaft 50 with tube 54. Links 42 will then be rigidlycoupled to ironing board 20 and the latter may not move in eitherdirection since link 40 provides a brace therefor so long as shaft 50and tube 54 are interconnected.

In operation, and assuming the ironing board 20 is in the collapsedposition of FIG. 1, the user of the ironing board need only pulloutwardly on knob 62 and then, while maintaining the knob 62 pulledoutwardly, lift ironing board 20 into the desired position or a positionat which a pair of slots 64 and shaft 50 will be aligned with slots 56in tube 54. The user may then release knob 62 and the bias force ofspring 70 will direct pin 58 into the aligned slots 56 and 64 tointerconnect shaft 50 and tube 54. Ironing board 20 will, therefore, bemaintained at the desired elevation above base frame 22. To change theheight of ironing board 20, the user need only repeat this operation.

Links 40 and 42 are disposed adjacent one end of ironing board 2t) toprovide adequate leg room therebeneath so that the user of the unit maysit comfortably at the side thereof while actually doing the ironingthereon. It is noted that the relative positions of shafts 48 and 50 arethe same as that of shafts 36 and 38 so that links 42 will at all timesbe parallel with link 48. Moreover, the olfset positions of shafts 3Sand 50 with respect to shafts 36 and 48, permit ironing board 20 to moveinto the collapsed position thereof and still be as close as possible tobase `frame 22. In the collapsed position, as shown in FIG. 1, links 42are still parallel with link 40, but links 42 are in substantialjuxtaposition to shaft 38 and the horizontal plane formed by theadjacent longitudinal edge of link 40.

Although shaft 58 has been described as being provided with a number ofpairs of diagonally opposed slots 64, it is conceivable, of course, thattube 54 could be provided with a series of diagonally opposed slots 56rather than shaft 50 if desired. Shaft 58 may be rigidly coupled withlinks 42 in any suitable mann-er, such as by setscrews or the like, ifdesired. This permits the removal of ironing board 20 from linkage 24.

The second embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 6-10, issubstantially identical as the rst embodiment thereof illustrated inFIGS. 1-5 except for the way in which the parallel linkage is coupledwith the ironing board and moved to raise and lower the latter.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 6-10 the ironing board is swingably mountedon a base frame 122 by parallel linkage 124 having a rst link 140journaled at its ends on shafts 136 and 148, and a pair of links 142parallel to link 140 journaled at their lower ends on shaft 138 andrigid at their upper ends to shaft 150. Shafts 136 and 138 are rigid toupright plates 132 carried by base frame 122, and shaft 148 is rigid toplates 144 and 146 secured to the underside of ironing board 120.

Shaft 150 projects through and is rotatable with respect to plates 144and 146, A tube 154 is telescoped over the end of shaft 150 adjacentplate 146, and a worm gear is rigid to the inner end of tube 154. Tube154 is rotatable on shaft 158 and has a pair of diametrically opposedslots 164 in shaft 150. A pin 158 carried by a flanged retainer andsecured to a knob 162, is received within slots 156 and 164 when thelatter are aligned. A coil spring to bias pin 158 in slots 156 and 164is disposed about retainer 168 and between the flange 172 thereof andthe inner face 174 of a bracket 166 secured in any suitable manner toplate 146 and having an opening 168 through which retainer 160 passes. Ahousing is carried by plate 146 and encloses the major portion of theouter end of shaft 150, tube 154, and retainer 168. Housing 175 has anopening 176 adjacent opening 168 and surrounding retainer 160.

A reversible motor 178 is secured to plate 146 within housing 175 andhas a drive yshaft 180 rotatable about a horizontal axis perpendicularto shaft 150. A worm 182 is carried on drive shaft and is in mesh withworm gear 155.

A panel 184 secured in any suitable manner to the underside of ironingboard 120 (FIG. 6) has a pair of push button switches 186 and 188electrically coupled with motor 178 and adapted to be coupled with asource of electrical power for operating motor 178 to cause rotation ofdrive shaft 180 in opposed directions. An outlet receptacle 190 is alsocarried by panel 184 so that the cord of an electric iron may be coupledin receptacle 190 to supply electrical power to the iron.

In operation, and assuming that ironing board 120 is Y in the collapsedposition thereof adjacent base frame 122,

the proper switch on panel 184 is actuated to energize motor 178 andcause the same to rotate worm gear 155 in a counterclockwise sense whenviewing FIG. 8. This will cause tube 154 to rotate and, since pin 158 isnormally disposed within slots 156 and 164, rotation will be imparted toshaft 150 and links 142. This action will, in turn, cause links 142 torotate about shaft 138 in a counterclockwise sense to raise ironingboard 128. The switch will be actuated until the proper height ofironing board 120 is attained. The switch is then released and theironing board 120 is locked in place for the reason that the weight ofthe ironing board 120 will tend to cause it to collapse once again, butworm 182 will prevent the clockwise rotation of worm gear 155 (viewingFIG. 8). The ironing may then commence by inserting the plug on the cordof the iron into receptacle 190.

Linkage 124 is so positioned to provide adequate leg room beneathironing board 120 so that the user thereof may comfortably sit at theside thereof and do the ironing without interference with links 140 and142. When the ironing is completed, ironing board 120 may be co1- lapsedby actuating the other of the two switches 186 and 188 to energize motor178 in a manner to reverse the rotation of worm gear 155, i.e., torotate it in a clockwise sense when viewing FIG. 8. This rotation willbe imparted to shaft 150 and thereby links `142 to cause the latter torotate in a clockwise sense about shaft 138. The motor 17 8 willcontinue to be energized until ironing board 120 is in its collapsedcondition.

The relative positions of shafts 136, 138, 148 and 150 are such as toprovide complete collapsibility for ironing board 120 in the same way asdescribed above in the case of the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. l-5.

Ironing board 120 may be rapidly collapsed by pulling outwardly on knob162 to move pin 158 out of slots 156 and 164. Shaft 150 will, therefore,be rotatable with respect to tube 154 so that links 142 may rotaterelative to ironing board 120.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In ironing board structure having a pair of parallel links pivotallymounted at their normally upper and lower ends thereof to an ironingboard and a base frame respectively, and disposed for swingably mountingthe ironing board on the base frame while maintaining the ironing boardlevel regardless of its operative position above the base frame, thecombination with said ironing board and said links of means for lockingsaid ironing board in any one of a number of operative positions, saidmeans including:

an elongated element rigidly coupled to one of said links adjacent theupper end thereof;

a coupling unit carried by said ironing board and extending along saidelement; and

means releasably interconnecting said element and said coupling unit.

2. In ironing board structure having a pair of parallel links pivotallymounted at their normally upper and lower ends thereof to an ironingboard and a base frame respectively, and disposed for swingably mountingthe ironing board on the base frame while maintaining the ironing boardlevel regardless of its operative position above the base frame, thecombination with said ironing board and one of said links of means forlocking said ironing board in any one of a number of operativepositions, said means including:

an elongated element having a number of spaced openings therein andrigidly secured to said one link adjacent the upper end thereof;

a coupling unit carried by said ironing board and having a memberextending along said element, said member being provided with an openingalignable with any one of the openings in said element; and

means receivable within said openings when the same are aligned tointerconnect said element and said coupling unit.

3. In ironing board structure having a pair of parallel links pivotallymounted at their normally upper and lower ends thereof to an ironingboard and a base frame respectively, and disposed for swingably mountingthe ironing board on the base frame while maintaining the ironing boardlevel regardless of its operative position above the base frame, thecombination with said ironing board and one of said links of means forlocking said ironing board in any one of a number of operativepositions, said means including:

a rst tube rigid to and extending laterally from said one link;

a second tube carried by said ironing board, one of said tubes beingtelescopically received within the other tube; and

means releasably connecting said tubes together when said one tube isreceived within said other tube.

4. In ironing board structure having a pair of parallel links pivotallymounted at their normally upper and lower ends thereof to an ironingboard and a base frame respectively, and disposed for swingably mountingthe ironing board on the base frame while maintaining the ironing boardlevel regardless of its operative position above the base frame, thecombination with said ironing board and one of said links of means forlocking said ironing board in any one of a number of operativepositions, said means including:

a shaft rigid to and extending laterally from said one link and providedwith a number of spaced slots therein;

a tube carried by said ironing board and being telescoped over saidshaft, said tube being provided with a slot in one end thereof alignablewith any one of the slots of said shaft; and

a pin receivable within aligned slots of said shaft and tube tointerconnect the same.

5. In ironing board structure as set forth in claim 4,

and means biasing said pin in said slots.

6. In ironing board structure having a pair of parallel links pivotallymounted at their normally upper and lower ends thereof to an ironingboard and a base frame respectively, and disposed for swingably mountingthe ironing board on the base frame while maintaining the ironing boardlevel regardless of its operative position above the base frame, thecombination with said ironing board and one of said links of means forlocking said ironing board in any one of a number of operativepositions, said means including:

a shaft rigid to and extending laterally from said one link and providedwith a number of spaced openings therein;

a tube telescoped over and rotatable on said shaft, said ironing boardhaving a stationary plate depending therefrom, said tube being rigid tosaid plate, said tube having an opening alignable with any one of theopenings in said shaft; and

a pin releasably receivable within aligned openings of said shaft andtube to interconnect the same.

7. In ironing board structure as set forth in claim 6, and a tubularretainer telescoped over and shiftable along said tube, said pin beingcarried by said retainer.

8. In ironing board structure as set forth in claim 7, said retainerhaving a flange at one end thereof, and including a bracket rigid tosaid plate and spaced from said ange longitudinally of said retainer,and a spring between said bracket and said flange and disposed t0 biasthe pin into said aligned openings.

9. In ironing board structure as set forth in claim 8, said retainerhaving a knob at the opposite end thereof for facilitating thelongitudinal shifting thereof, whereby said pin may be moved out of saidopenings.

10. In ironing board structure as set forth in claim 6, and meansbiasing said pin in said aligned openings.

11. In ironing board structure having a pair of parallel links pivotallymounted at their normally upper and lower ends thereof to an ironingboard and a base frame respectively, and disposed for swingably mountingthe ironing board on the base frame while maintaining the ironing boardlevel regardless of its operative position above the base frame, thecombination with said ironing board and one of said links of means forraising and lowering said ironing board and for locking the same in anyone of a number of operative positions, said means including:

a shaft rigid to and extending laterally from said one link;

a reversible motor secured to said ironing board adjacent said shaft;

means controlling the energization of said motor for forward and reverseoperation thereof; and

gear means extending along the shaft for releasably interconnecting saidmotor and said shaft to permit rotation of the latter in a corresponding`direction when said motor is energized, said gear means being operableto prevent rotation of the shaft when said motor is deenergized.

12. In ironing board structure as set forth in claim 11, said gear meansincluding a worm gear and a worm.

13. In ironing board structure as set forth in claim 11, said motorhaving a drive shaft, said gear means including a worm attached to saiddrive shaft and a worm gear attached to the shaft 0n said one link.

14. In ironing board structure as set forth in claim 11, said gear meansincluding a worm gear, a tube rigid to said worm gear and slidablytelescoped over said shaft, and structure interconnecting said shaft andsaid tube.

15. In ironing board structure as set forth in claim 14, each of saidshaft and said tube having an opening therein, said openings beingalignable, said structure com* prising a pin releasably receivablewithin said openings when the latter `are aligned.

16. In ironing board structure as set forth in claim 15, and meansbiasing the pin in said aligned openings.

17. In ironing board structure having a pair of links of equal lengthand transverse width for swingably mounting an ironing board on andabove a base frame and for maintaining the ironing board levelregardless of its operative position above the base frame, thecombination with said ironing board and said links of means for lockingsaid ironing board in any one of a number of operative positions and forpermitting complete collapsibility thereof, said means including:

a pair of spaced first journals adapted for pivotally mounting the lowerends of the links on said base frame;

a pair of spaced second journals for pivotally mounting the upper endsof the links on said ironing board and to position the links inparallelism with each other, the distance between said first journalsbeing equal to the distance between the second journals, one of thejournals of each pair thereof being disposed at a height above the otherjournal of the same pair substantially equal to the transverse width ofeach link to permit the ironing board to be completely collapsed on thebase frame when the links are horizontally disposed and when a rst ofsaid links is in superposition to the other link;

an elongated element rigidly `coupled to one of said links adjacent theupperend thereof;

a coupling unit carried by the ironing board and extending along saidelement; and

means releasably interconnecting said element and said coupling unit.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 982,093 l/ll Russ10S-138 X 2,451,259 10/48 Tronic 10S-116 2,545,515 3/51 Gannett et al.10S-138 2,562,046 7/51 Krantz 10S-138 30 FRANK B. SHERRY, PrimaryExaminer.

1. IN IRONING BOARD STRUCTURE HAVING A PAIR OF PARALLEL LINKS PIVOTALLYMOUNTED AT THEIR NORMALLY UPPER AND LOWER ENDS THEREOF TO AN IRONINGBOARD AND A BASE FRAME RESPECTIVELY, AND DISPOSED FOR SWINGABLY MOUNTINGTHE IRONING BOARD ON THE BASE FRAME WHILE MAINTAINING THE IRONING BOARDLEVEL REGARDLESS OF ITS OPERATIVE POSITION ABOVE THE BASE FRAME, THECOMBINATION WITH SAID IRONING BOARD AND SAID LINKS OF MEANS FOR LOCKINGSAID IRONING BOARD IN ANY ONE OF A NUMBER OF OPERATIVE POSITIONS, SAIDMEANS INCLUDING: AN ELONGATED ELEMENT RIGIDLY COUPLED TO ONE OF SAIDLINKS ADJACENT THE UPPER END THEREOF; A COUPLING UNIT CARRIED BY SAIDIRONING BOARD AND EXTENDING ALONG SAID ELEMENT; AND MEANS RELEASABLYINTERCONNECTING SAID ELEMENT AND SAID COUPLING UNIT.